Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions to access or use for research purposes.

Custodial History

This collection was donated to the Farmville-Prince Edward County Archives in June 1999, by Marian Rice of Wheaton, Maryland.

Biographical / Historical

Robert C. Anderson was born in Prince Edward County in 1817, the son of Robert H. Anderson and Henningham C. Venable. Robert C. Anderson inherited, from his parents, the Providence Plantation in Prince Edward County. The house and farm had been given to his parents as a wedding gift in 1816, by Anderson's maternal grandfather, Samuel Woodson Venable, Sr.

The land and home, originally known as Rose Hill, was located 1 ½ miles east of Worsham, Virginia. The property was owned by the Episcopal Church, situated in nearby Kingsville, Virginia, and served as the rectory for the Reverend Archibald McRobert. Local, unverified legend states that during the American Revolution, when Tarleton's troops were raiding the nearby area, they destroyed much of the furniture and interior of the home and then set fire to the house. Shortly after they rode off, a sudden rain put the fire out, prompting Reverend McRobert to change the name of the home from Rose Hill to Providence.

Prior to purchase by Samuel Woodson Venable, Sr., the land was also home to Dr. Francis Joseph Mettauer, who had been quartered near Kingsville when he was a surgeon with Count Rochambeau's troops during the Revolution. At that time, he came to the attention of local influential citizens, Patrick Henry and Nathaniel Venable, who, realizing the need for a doctor to serve the community and Hampden-Sydney College, induced him to settle there by offering him the land on which to build a home.

Scope and Contents

This collection, which dates from 1840 to 1871, consists of financial records related to Robert C. Anderson and Providence Plantation.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Anderson, Robert C.
• Cabell, John
• Crute, J.M.
• Cunningham, John R. -- Commissioner of Revenue
• Edwards, James
• Guthrie, H.O.
• Scott, George O.
• Scott, Welden
• Walker, C.M. (Charles McKinney)
• Womack, J.W.